Lorelais Protector
by Couragebold
Summary: Lorelai gets into some trouble in the freezing weather. How will Luke react?
1. Chapter 1

Lorelai sighed in contentment as she entered Luke's for her morning coffee. Rory was away on a Chilton camp and so she reminded herself to enjoy the time alone.

Sitting down on the usual seat at the cafe table, Lorelai eyed Luke.

His mouth was turned downwards and his face was screwed into a scowl.

She smiled to herself as his eyes lightened when he saw her, walking over with the coffee pot.

"So who killed the clown?" Lorelai smiled, mischievously.

Luke pressed his lips in a straight line before taking a deep sigh.

"Well, notice anything different about my appearance today, Lorelai?" His eyes showed his irritation.

Lorelai smiled to herself, noticing his untamed hair standing out more than usual.

She gasped.

"Your hat! Where has Luke gone!" She looked around the cafe,mockingly.

He pursed his lips in amusement.

"Yeah, well I lost it last night, after a walk near the forest. Must have blown off in the snow. How did I not realise? It was my favourite hat." He grumbled, incoherently.

"Hmm. Well maybe it'll turn up." She smiled, drinking the last of her coffee as she scurried out the door to go to work. Luke smiled to himself, watching her leave. Something about Lorelai just made him happy.

Lorelai was distracted throughout work, constantly disheartened by how sad Luke looked. She thought of looking for the hat herself, but the snow was getting deeper by the hour and a storm was due to hit in the evening.

The day came to an end, and Lorelai cursed herself internally for not bringing her coat, as she braced the bitter winds on the way to her car.

The temperature was getting lower. She needed coffee to warm up and perhaps she could cheer Luke up.

Walking into the diner, his eyes lit up, momentarily breaking through his dull expression.

Lorelai smiled.

"How was your day sunshine?"

Luke smiled ironically and poured her a cup of coffee,

"You finished later than normal?" He pondered.

Lorelai glanced at the clock. It was 7pm! The day must have completely escaped her.

"Yeah, wow! We had so many new clients today though which kept me on my toes."

Lorelai sipped her coffee gratefully and shivered slightly.

Luke's eyes narrowed. "Lorelai, there's a freezing,windy storm on the way and you choose today of all days to not bring a coat to work." He frowned, concerned.

He motioned for her to sit closer to the fire and she followed, smiling gratefully as she sat at the opposite end of the diner counter, losing herself in thought as she watched Luke serve the customers.

Lorelai felt a tug of sadness on her heart as she thought of how disheartened Luke was about losing his hat, earlier. He'd done so much for her, maybe this was something she could return the favours to.

As Luke served the last few customers of the day, Lorelai decided to plan her escape. The forest was just across the end of the street where Luke lost his hat, however she would have to walk, as her little car wouldn't be able to get through the thick snow.

She was sure the hat wouldn't be far and would be covered on the walk trail and she'd be back in 10 mins tops.

She quickly stood up, preparing herself to face the cold, as she navigated through the chatting customers to the door. She saw that Luke was still distracted.

She bumped into Mrs Patty.

"And where are you going in such a hurry Lorelai?" She smiled.

Lorelai continued to exit the diner muttering back, "I'm seeing a snowman about a hat!"


	2. Chapter 2

The wind whipped through Lorelai as she hugged her chest, fighting to keep warm. Her teeth chattered and breathing was immediately difficult with the bitter cold air. Lorelai cursed herself for not bringing her coat to work, and pushed her legs harder through the snow, hoping to find the hat as quick as possible.

The snow was thick and almost knee deep and the wind howled loudly through the trees. Not a single person was in sight and the trees whipped against the gales.

Lorelai was growing colder , rubbing her gloves together to try and create some heat. Her teeth chattered so hard that she feared she'd chip a tooth and her chest ached from breathing the frigid air.

She sighed in relief as she quickly reached the forest edge, exhausted from the running and the unrelenting weather. She frantically kicked the snow alongside the path, desperate for any sign of Luke's hat.

She smiled to herself, thinking of how much this would cheer him up.

Luke wiped down the bench when his eyes flickered towards the fire, where Lorelai was sitting. He frowned when he could no longer see her and her coffee cup sat half full.

Walking around the bench, Luke's expression grew confused. Perhaps she was hiding as a joke?

He turned to Mrs Patty.

"Have you seen Lorelai?" His eyes frowned.

"Oh she mentioned something about the snow and hat but no one ever knows what she's quite on about." Mrs Patty continued sipping her coffee.

Luke's expression flicked from complete confusion to pure fear. His heart pounded in frustration. Surely , there's no way she'd be stupid enough to go out in a storm with no coat, looking for something as stupid as his hat?

He gasped. "WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE HER?!"

He boomed at Mrs Patty. She gasped in shock.

"Calm down dear, you work too hard. I saw her around 10-15 minutes ago."

Luke's eyes widened as he raced for his keys, running to his car. He swung his coat around himself, cursing as he realised just how cold the air was getting.

He floored his car towards the forest.

Lorelai shivered violently, fear clouding her mind as her muscles gave up and her thinking slowed. Suddenly, some grey fabric poked through the snow tops. She laughed in pure relief, lunging for the hat.

The relief didn't last long, as Lorelai soon realised she was in trouble. Her legs were shaking, her muscles were frozen and tired and she felt cold to the bone. She squinted at the light of Luke's diner in the distance, wondering if she was going to make the trek back. Her bottom lip trembled in fear.


	3. Chapter 3

Luke reached the forest edge, his eyes desperately scanning for any sign of Lorelai. Boy was he going to yell at her for this complete stupidity once he found her.

He ran out of his truck, the cold air whipping his coat as his worry intensified.

Suddenly, he saw her, arms hugging her chest, weakly walking though the snow.

Luke ran to her desperately.

"Lorelai!"

She looked up, only just hearing her name over the wind.

Her legs nearly collapsed in relief.

Luke reached her in seconds, quickly taking of his coat and wrapping it around her freezing body. He hugged her tight.

"Lorelai! We have to get you out of here. You're freezing!"

She leaned into his side weakly, as he tried to pull her towards his car.

Luke quickly scanned her face.

"Lorelai are, are you hurt?! My gosh come on, let's get you out of here quickly!" She held onto his coat around her body as his arm rested on her shoulders.

"Luke?" Lorelai's vision was fading and dizziness was becoming consuming.

"Lorelai?" Luke grabbed her shoulders, looking her in the face.

Her eyes slowly shut in exhaustion.

Luke's eyes widened as he grabbed her swaying form, scooping her up under her knees.

"Crap." His heart pounded as he sprinted to his truck, carefully playing her freezing form in the front.

When he reached the dinner, all customers had left thankfully.

He carried Lorelai frantically into the diner, placing her gently on the couch near the fire.

She slowly opened her eyes.

"Luke?" She looked relieved.

"Oh thank god." Luke rested his head on her lap, completely overwhelmed with relief. He pressed a hot cup of coffee into her hands, not liking her blue skin shade.

"Lorelai, are you hurt? Are you okay?"

He bent down, meeting her eyes.

The warmth of the fire was already spreading through her and thawing her freezing body. She grasped his coat tighter, inhaling his scent and embracing the warmth.

"I'm okay. Thank you so much Luke."

She smiled gratefully.

Luke slowly stood up. He took a deep breath.

"Lorelai, what the hell were you thinking? To just go risk your life in the freezing cold with no protection? You could have been killed!" He boomed.

She quickly pulled out the hat from her side. "Luke,I ,I'm sorry, I, I just wanted to get your hat back because I couldn't stand seeing you sad." She stammered.

Tears welled in her eyes.

Luke's expression quickly softened as he sat beside her, slowly taking the hat and placing an arm around her shoulders.

"Lorelai, just promise me you won't ever scare me that bad again."

She smiled, knowing she was forgiven.

He slowly rested his head on hers hugging her tight.


End file.
